Anything better than masking tape?

Ya know, no matter how hard I try, masking tape always possesses capiary action and the paint BLEEDS under the tape! Masking tape should not be called masking tape! It does it’s job terribly! However, is there anything out there any better that I don’t know about?

Dana

Depends on the specific thing you’re masking, but you can try:

  • Tamiya masking tape
  • Parafilm M
  • liquid mask
  • Silly Putty (or another type of putty)

Murray

You could try sealing the tape with a thin coat of the base paint that you are using, ie if you’re painting red on white, stick your tape down on the white and then seal the edge with the white paint. Let it dry and then paint on the red.

I use the painters “Blue” tape. I get it at Home Depot,ACO or many different hardware or home improvement stores. I costs a little more, well maybe $5.00 per roll but it works. It works on canopys also but you have to press a little bit on even a new #11 blade. This tape does not leave a residue or pull off paint. That is why painters use it. I painted a cowling in the early afternoon and taped the painted part off and sprayed the yellow chrome on the front and did not remove any of the paint under the tape. I use a lot of different things to seal off areas. Just as the other tips you got before me,they all work good. This is just another idea that I found out works well too.

Thanks for the replies guys. I was painting a motorcycle which is not usually my kind of modeling. I’m more of an aircraft person and perfect lines don’t usually matter much. Anyway, red on white is exacly what I was doing. I can’t redo it since doing so would just pile the paint up even more. Oh well, we live and learn. Thanks again.
Dana

My masking technique, especially canopies, is time-consuming- but I have yet to have problems with it. I will look at the shape of the pane I am trying to mask…cut it using the little scissors on my Swiss Army knife…put it on the pane and trim as necessary…then I burnish it down with a toothpick. After I paint I take off my masks and rarely get bleeding. The times I do, I just use the toothpicks again to scrape off the paint from the clear plastic.

Yea, I don’t have a problem canopies on aircraft. In this case, I had painted the thing white, then used the tape to mask off to paint a red design on it. Bleed city!

You can also try what’s called Drafting Tape… it’s masking tape with half as much adhesive. It’s made for drafting where you stick it to paper, and peel it off.

Also I have had good success with Post-Its

A couple things you can do:

  1. No tape is going to provide a fine line unless you burnish down the edge. No burnish=bleed through every time. Jeeves (above) uses a toothpick. I’ve used a fingernail with no problems. Anything stiff with a rounded edge should give good results.
  2. Scotch tape gives incredibly fine lines when burnished properly–if you’re looking for a substitute. Just make sure you extend the tape past where you are going to paint, and then create a tab on the tape by folding it over on itself. It’ll give you something to grip when it’s time to remove it.
  3. One big tip: DON’T spray into the mask. Rather, angle your airbrush away from the mask slightly. You’ll still get your fine edge, but will eliminate bleed through, and paint accumulation/build-up along the mask edge.
    Hope this helps,
    Gip Winecoff

I found that silly putty works wonders. Can be shaped to any pattern you want. Great for Camouflage patterns ( loved the results from when I tried it). FSM had a great article on it a couple of issues ago